Franklin Pichardo began his lifelong career as a cigar professional by learning at the hands of industry giants. At the age of 16, as yet unaware of his hidden talent, Pichardo was making a living washing cars in Santiago. He didn’t know the first thing about tobacco – until a dear friend changed his life forever. “a very good friend of mine, Andres Belliard, said to me one day, ‘hey young man, do you want to start rolling cigars?’” Pichardo said. “i told him, ‘sure, nothing is impossible. Let’s try.’ so i did.”That was 1995. Today Pichardo celebrates 21 years in the cigar industry, including the first 15 with Arturo Fuente as an Opus X Roller (tabaquero).

The Arturo Fuente Opus X Cigar is one of the most highly regarded cigars in the world. It is the benchmark for which many cigar companies use to measure excellence, and Pichardo was one of the chosen few who had the opportunity to roll the majesty of the industry.